For many prospective students, applying to graduate school is an opaque and daunting process. The goal of our Admissions Peer Support Program is to demystify the application process and the graduate school experience in Art History at UofT. The Program provides prospective students with direct email access to current and former graduate students who can answer questions about graduate student life in Art History and help with navigating the admissions process.
MA and PhD applicants are encouraged to reach out to one of our Student Mentors. Mentor bios and contact information are below!
Questions about application instructions, minimum qualifications, program requirements, funding eligibility, and course availability should be directed to our Graduate Administrator, Ruth Maddeaux.
Current students interested in joining the Student Admissions Peer Support Program as mentors can contact our Graduate Chair, Professor Kajri Jain
Meet our Student Mentors
Jasaña Alleyne jasana.alleyne@gmail.com
I am an Art History MA graduate with research interests in visual arts that explore themes of Black identity, diaspora, and African spirituality as well as visual art from the 19th century. I have also explored themes such as beauty standards, aesthetic and social constructs, and racism in the art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I am currently working on my visual art practice, predominantly in painting, design, and sculpture. When I’m not painting on canvas, a board or a wall, I can be found “painting” on skin, as I am also a tattoo artist in Mississauga.
I have been where you are. I know how it can be sometimes. Talking it all out was a huge help for me and I’d love to pay that forward as I have learned a thing or two about understanding and navigating the resources available at UofT. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or just want to talk about your home-life responsibilities, home/life/school balance, Toronto living, working while studying, coursework, external resources, etc. I’ll do my very best to help, or at least point you in the right direction.
Niharika Russell niharika.russell@mail.utoronto.ca
My name is Niharika (she/her/hers), and I am in my 3rd year of the PhD program in the Department of Art History. I completed my BFA in Painting & Drawing with a minor in Classical Civilizations at Concordia University in 2019, and my MA in Art History at the University of Toronto in 2020. My field of specialization is ancient Greek art and archaeology, and my research is focused on the multisensory interactive mechanics of Athenian pottery in the context of sympotic use. To help facilitate this research, I am a participant in the department’s Mediterranean Archaeology Collaborative Specialization (MACS) program.
Beyond the scope of research pursuits in the department, I work as the Steward for our union (CUPE 3902 Unit 1- that includes Teaching Assistants, Course Instructors, Exam Invigilators, Chief Presiding Officers, Tutors, and Markers!), and have been involved in the Graduate Union of Students of Art (GUStA) as Treasurer and as Co-Chair of the Wollesen Memorial Graduate Symposium (our annual graduate student-run research conference). If you have any questions about the MACS program, working as a Teaching Assistant, healthcare benefits, getting involved in department events or initiatives, or the application process, please feel free to reach out to me. When I’m not in the department, I can be found baking, painting, and hunting for antiques.
Jacob Zhicheng Zhang jacobzhicheng.zhang@mail.utoronto.ca
My name is Jacob Zhicheng Zhang, and I am a third-year international PhD student in the Department. My research interests include modern and contemporary art in global (post)socialist and (post)colonial lenses, Chinese and Sinophone visual cultures, art education, theories of gender and sexuality, and art and representation in liberal democracies. Currently, my PhD project explores how postwar art pedagogies might shape the artist figure and artists' considerations of cultural identities. Originally from Nanjing, China, I hold an MA in art history from an art school in the United States, and I spent my BA at a small liberal arts college. Before joining the Department in 2022, I worked in Berlin, Germany, part-time as a registrar and part-time as a freelance writer and translator between English and Chinese for journals, galleries, and museums.
Besides my studies, I often find myself seeking out old and new films, and I enjoy playing racket sports. Feel free to reach out to me about contemporary art–related resources on campus, the transition from job to PhD, being an international student and dealing with funding, working as a teaching or research assistant, and volunteering for GUStA, our course union, etc.